Gymnastics is leading the way in applying artificial intelligence to the judging of elite sport, and it could be used to help decide medals at the LA Olympics.
Bosses in the sport said they would be “highly surprised” if AI-assisted judging was not implemented at the Games in 2028.
This is despite some leading gymnasts criticising its use at the recent World Championships, saying they were “not robots” and warning it could be “dangerous”.
Olympic champion Carlos Yulo and British gymnast Harry Hepworth had the difficulty rating of their vaults downgraded in qualifying.
Both were performing the piked Dragulescu and had their scores reduced from a 5.6 to a 5.2.
They attempted the same vault in the final with Hepworth finishing sixth, while Yulo fell and came seventh.
On his return from Rotterdam, Hepworth told BBC Sport: “On the half twist I bend my legs so that I can prepare for the landing, which I think is the most sensible thing to do because you don’t want to break your legs or anything.
“But the AI detection system caught on to it and said I was doing a tuck position, which then downgrades the vault by four tenths.
“It definitely cost me a few positions, I think, in the final for sure.”
Referencing Yulo’s experience, he said: “I think it does say a lot when me, the Olympic bronze medallist on vault, and the Olympic champion on vault are getting done by the AI system for the exact same thing.
“In the final he really did go for the straight legs and it just made him fall because it’s just really hard to do, and I think quite dangerous as well.”
Yulo said he was disappointed with the downgrading.
“I don’t know what the problem is,” he told Inside Gymnastics. “It’s AI, I’m not a robot, we’re human beings, in my eyes and in my opinion. I think everyone also is maybe a bit disappointed about it because everyone is feeling it is pike position, why is it only 5.2?”
Andrew Tombs, president of the Men’s Artistic Gymnastics technical committee, believes the AI system can guarantee fairness for athletes and that is what they deserve.
He said judges at the World Championships would have downgraded the difficulty rating – even without using the Judging Support System (JSS).
But he did acknowledge lessons had been learned and that conversations were ongoing with coaches about the point at which the JSS should take its measurements.
“I think the decisions made at the championships were correct based on what was in the system,” he added.
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